The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-11-20


dictation OF the photograph than he
can from copy. l have already per
fected an apparatus which allows the
Photographic MESSAGES to be given out
in pieces of ten words each. The
printer touches q pedal with his foot.
aud the photograph says ten words.
If he sets the ten correctly, he touches
the pedal again and gets ten words
more. If he is in doubt he tries an
other pedal, which makes the phoDo
graph repeat. In the future some
method may be found Of combining the
monograph and the telephone-that is
TO say, the phonograph may be made
made SO delicate as to take down the
sound from the telephone and give il
ont again when wanted. As yet L have
not attempted any such thing. The
vibrations of the telephone diaphragm
are too delicate for use in the
photograph. In business l think that
where. Outside of business it is hard to
say exactly to what uses it may be put.
8 it will record and repeat any kind of
musical sound, and as the process of
duplicating the phonOgram, as l call
my sheet of metal which has passed
through the photograph and become
impressed with certain sounds, is very
cheap, the phonogram copy of lecture,
a book, play or an opera need cost but
a tritie.
"For music / know that you will
simply laugh when l tell you what
have done with the two instruments
that | have finished. l have got the
playing of an orchestra SO perfectly that
each lnstrume t can be heard distinct
from the Test; you can even tell the
difference between two pianos OF differ
ent makes; you can tell the voice OF
one singer from another; you can get
reproduction of an operate scene IN
which the orchestra, the choruseS AID
the sOloistS will be as distinct and as
satisfactory IS opera in this sort OF
miniature can ever be made. Opera by
telephone has been done in Paris and
Lon lon more or less successfully, but
the phonograph Will eclipse the tele-
phone for this purpose beyond all COM
parison, and Photographic opera will
cost nothing, because the phono-
gram Can be passed through the phono-
graph, if necessary, thousand times in
Succession, anu once the machine Is
bought there is no other cost beyond
the triie for phonograms. For books
the phonogram will come in the shape
of q long roll wound upon roller. 10
make the first photographic copy OF
book some good reader must of course
read it out to The instrument; once that
is done, duplication to any number OF
thousand or million copies is simple
mechanical work, easy and cheap.
Now, just think moment what that
means.
Suppose you are sick, or blind, or
poor, or cannot sleep. You have
phonograph, and the whole field Of lit
erature and music is open to you. The
perfected photograph is going to do
more for the poor man than the print
ing press. No matter where he is, the
poor man can hear all the great
have all the great books read
to him by trained readers, can hear
as much of a play or opera as if ne
was in the next room to the theatre,
and all this at q cost scarcely worth
mentioning l remember that when
the telephone was first announced it
was said that now people in the wilds
of Africa or America might assist
nightly at the performances OF the
Paris Opera Honse; the wires from that
favored spot might run to all parts OF
the world. Well. we have not yet got
to that, although it is scientific posi-
bility for the future to perfect IN detail.
But the monograph will make such a
thing perfectly easy. The photographic
record of q performance at the Paris
Opera House can be duplicated by the
thousand and mailed to all parts OF the
world. Idon't know but that the news
paper of the future will be in the shape
of phonogram and the critic will give
his readers specimens of the perform
ance and let them hear just how the
future Patti did her work, we'll or other
wise. This sounds like the widest
absurdity and yet, when you come to
think OF it, why notP Have l told you
enough to make you believe that l am
iokingP We'll, 1 am nothing of joker,
and this is all the most sober kind OF
statement. Within two months from
now the first monograph will be in the
market
The reporter to whom Mr.. Edison
told all this, in his usual earnest and
quiet manner, asked several expert
scientists what they thought of it. Not
one was found who was willing to say
that there was anything impossible, or
even improbable, in what Edison
claims to have done. The points of de-
tails mentioned as difficu ties about
which Edison had said little or moth
ing were, first, the scarcity OF good
small electric motors, perfectly regular
and perfectly noiseless. Secondly, the
difficulty OF making a recording sheet
for the photograph which would not
wear out when passed through the in
strument a great many times. This
was one of the old troubles OF the first
phonograph. Edison says he has made
a perfect motor and also perfect ma,
teriaI for his phonograms, but he will
not as vet show either to outsiders.
AS to the pos Utilities of such an in
strument So Edison claims to have per.
fected, experts who have talked about
the matter indulge In what seems to be
far more extravagant speculation. One
gentleman could not see why the
monograph should not be used
for newspapers, except that there
might be some trouble IN selecting e1-
actly what the reader wanted to hear.
If the phonograph gave out the whole
newspaper from beginning to end, ad-
vertisements and all, it might be too
much of good Thing. In fact the ad-